What is BioniLUG?BioniLUG stands for Bionicle LEGO Users Group. It's a part of BZPower focused on people who like to attend conventions or participate by sending their creations to them. It's essentially a way to organize those people and get some support to them from LEGO to help improve their enjoyment of the hobby.

Why make a LUG?Recently LEGO has been moving to standardize the support they give to different types of LEGO communities - online sites, LUGs, fan events, etc. It was suggested to us by members of the LEGO Community Team that we branch out so BZPower could take better advantage of some of this support. We thought about it, got your feedback, and decided to do just that.

What do I get for joining?LUG members will receive from BZPower:

An engraved BioniLUG brick to add to their brick badge at fan conventions or otherwise display

A special image indicating their membership in BioniLUG on the forums

Access to the the LEGO benefits below

More things may be added in the future

Here is some of what LEGO offers to LUGs:

A sticker to apply to your LEGO VIP card to indicate you are a LEGO fan - this will give you 15% off at LEGO Brand Retail Stores on four designated AFOL Shopping Days each year*

A certain amount (based on size and level of activity of each LUG) of loose standard LEGO bricks (1x1 – 2x8) which can be used as build or play bricks for events but also as incentives for members or for other internal or external activities the LUG is organizing

A certain amount (based on size and level of activity of each LUG) of LEGO sets which can be used for internal or external activities as prizes, set reviews or for competitions

Participation in the LUGBULK program (if the LUG meets certain requirements) allowing LUG members to buy bulk brick directly from LEGO for use in creations

*This sticker must be applied to a LEGO VIP card and is only valid at North American LEGO Brand Retail Stores. Our LUG is centered in the USA and while we welcome members from any country, they may not be able to take advantage of all benefits.

What do I have to do to join?There are a couple requirements for joining BioniLUG, but we've tried to keep it simple:

You must be a member of BZPower

You must attend at least one LEGO fan convention a year

OR

You must send in MOCs to at least one LEGO fan convention a year

How much does it cost?BioniLUG costs $10 to join initially and $5 every year after that. The cost covers your customized brick, VIP card sticker, and shipping costs for sets and other things we're distributing. Any remaining funds will support BZPower's hosting costs.

Premier Members get 30% off the initial price, so $7 to join but still $5 per year afterwards. If you bought your Premier Membership before the creation of the new store, you will have to contact me to get a coupon code to use to get your discount.

I live in [insert country]: can I join?People from any country can join as long as they meet the above requirements. All members will receive the engraved brick, LUG member indicator, and access to the subforum. Additionally, however we decide to distribute the sets and pieces we get from LEGO, all members will be considered equally.

All members can receive the sticker for the AFOL day discount. The sticker is only valid at North American LEGO Brand Retail stores, i.e., USA and Canada. If you do not live in one of those countries or you do and do not have a LEGO store near you, the sticker will not do you much good. Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about that and hope you still join BioniLUG anyway.

As a side note, there is a separate program to receive a discount at European LEGO Brand Retail stores. If you are interested in participating in that, I suggest you find a LUG in your country and join that. If you need help finding a LUG, please contact me and I'll do my best to help.

What are you waiting for? Head over to our store and buy a membership now: